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Mike Pence

Former vice-president, adrift of Trump and DeSantis in polls, makes less-than-bold presidential prediction to CBS

Mike Pence has not decided whether to enter the Republican presidential primary but if he does he will enter well before late June.

The former congressman, Indiana governor and vice-president to Donald Trump has been moving towards a run for months, releasing a memoir, visiting early voting states and establishing a political staff.

He made his less-than-bold prediction in an interview with CBS Face the Nation.

I think if we have an announcement to make, itll be well before late June, Pence said, adding: Anyone that would be serious about seeking the Republican nomination would need to be in this contest by June.

If we have an announcement to make it will be well before then.

Pence must perform a balancing act, distancing himself from Trump, the rival candidate whose supporters chanted for Pence to be hanged when they attacked the US Capitol, while trumpeting their achievements together in office.

It seems a doomed effort in a party and primary dominated by Trump, particularly as Pence recently dropped attempts to avoid testifying in the justice department investigation of the January 6 attack.

In March, in perhaps his boldest break from Trump, Pence told a Washington dinner: President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election, and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.

On CBS, asked if he was leaning in or leaning away, Pence said: Well, Im here in Iowa.

His interviewer, Robert Costa, said: Sounds like youre leaning in.

Pence said: I would tell you that Im very humbled by the encouragement that were receiving. And I promise when we have something to announce, youll be among the first to know.

Pence spoke on Saturday at an event in Clive, Iowa, staged by the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a rightwing nonprofit.

Trump also addressed the event. Responding to a recent rebuke from a leading anti-abortion group, which called his opposition to a federal abortion ban morally indefensible, the former president highlighted the decision by which a supreme court including three justices he named removed the right to abortion last year.

Those justices delivered a landmark victory for protecting innocent life, Trump said, in a speech delivered by video. Nobody thought it was going to happen. They thought it would be another 50 years. Because Republicans had been trying to do it for exactly that period of time, 50 years.

The Roe v Wade decision which protected the right to abortion came in 1973 49 years before it was overturned by Dobbs v Jackson.

The Iowa caucuses will kick off the Republican primary in February. Ten months out, Trump enjoys clear leads in polling.

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has maintained a hold on second place without declaring a run.

But DeSantiss numbers are tanking. The governor faces his own difficulties at state level while Trump surfs a wave of support generated by his criminal indictment in New York, over a hush money payment to an adult film star, and other forms of legal jeopardy including a civil rape trial due to open next week.

Trump denies wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of Democratic witch-hunts: a potent combination for attracting donations and support. On Sunday, an NBC poll said 68% of Republican voters thought Trump was the victim of politically motivated attacks and it was important to support him.

Pence is contesting third place with Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who declared her run in February. Both are at around 4% support.

The other mainstream Republican to have declared, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, struggles to break 1%. The South Carolina senator Tim Scott has all but declared a run but remains all but invisible in polling.

Polls do not provide uniformly good news for Trump. A poll this week from the Associated Press and the University of Chicago said 44% of Republicans (and 70% of Americans) do not want him to be the nominee.

The Dispatch, a conservative anti-Trump site, said Pence was planning a launch in Indiana, followed by another trip to Iowa.

Pence, the site said, plans to campaign as the traditional conservative he is, eschewing momentary cultural flashpoints that inflame passions and attract eyeballs [to] instead focus on wonky topics fraught with political peril, like how to address the ballooning federal debt and reforming popular programs like Social Security and Medicare.

On abortion, Pence is eager to highlight his opposition and his commitment to signing federal legislation limiting the procedure.

Such positions have proved unpopular with general election voters. The Dispatch also said Pence planned to aim fire directly at Trump.

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Mike Pence will enter presidential race well before late June if he does at all - The Guardian US

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Indianapolis hosted the National Rifle Association convention for the third year in a row April 14-16. The annual conference, held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, drew an NRA-estimated attendance of more than 77,000 people, according to the Indianapolis Star. Speakers at the conventions leadership forum on April 14 included former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, according to the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum website. Video messages from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott also were shown at the forum.

Indianapolis likes to build itself as a convention-friendly city, according to University of Indianapolis Associate Professor of Political Science Greg Shufeldt, and 2023 is the last year Indianapolis is under contractual obligation to host the NRAs convention. Shufeldt said that with Indiana being considered a Republican state, and with most people likely being supporters of the Second Amendment, Indianapolis would be a favorable place to hold the convention. Shufeldt said the NRAs featuring of speakers at the leadership forum such as former President Trump and former Vice President Pence highlights the importance of the NRA in the Republican party.

As we think about the 2024 Republican primary, people might try to distinguish themselves between being more conservative or moderate, Shufeldt said. But every Republican thats running for president is going to be there. Theres not a Republican [politician] that is speaking out against gun rights. (The New York Times stated in an article that, Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans support some restrictions on firearms, but G.O.P. lawmakers fear they would pay a steep political price for embracing them.)

The convention began Friday, April 14, with the NRA Foundations Annual National Firearms Law Seminar, and continued through the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum at the end of the first day, according to the NRA convention schedule. Saturday, the second day of the convention, included more seminars and workshops, according to the schedule, as well as exhibit halls where different businesses showcased their products. The convention concluded on Sunday with a National Prayer Breakfast and more workshops and seminars.

With high-profile speakers comes high-security precautions. The U.S. Secret Service required that all media representatives attending the NRA ILA Leadership Forum leave their equipment in Exhibit Hall A for a security sweep before going through additional security measures to regain access. The line to see the speakers spanned down the convention center, and soon the room was filled with thousands of NRA members and media representatives.

Gov. Eric Holcomb IN

Holcomb discussed the State of Indianas infrastructure, state tax cuts through budgeting formulas and ways in which Indiana is a prominent supporter of the Second Amendment. Indiana hosts multiple outdoor recreational opportunities, Holcomb said, as well as the NRA National Marksmanship Competition. In 2024, Holcomb said, Indiana will host the World University Shooting Sport Championship.

Sen. Mike Braun IN

Braun mentioned the Greenwood Park Mall shooting in Greenwood, Ind. last July 17, and the patron who shot the attacker while concealed carrying his firearm. The Biden-Harris Administrations enacting a nationwide vaccination mandate for businesses down to 100 employees was an overreach, Braun said, that damaged the country during the pandemic. He said the federal government is trampling on the Constitution and attempting to replace the nuclear family, which he aims to work against.

Former Vice President Mike Pence

Pence spoke about the Trump-Pence administrations four years in office and about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. A conservative majority on the Supreme Court gave America the opportunity for the right to life, Pence said, and last June they ruled to eliminate the license requirement to carry concealed weapons in New York in the Bruen Decision. Under the current White House administration, attacks through gun violence are the products of a lack of crime control, Pence said, and that gun confiscation endangers lives. Shootings in the U.S. have resulted from a decline in mental health and a reduction in institutionalizing the mentally ill, Pence said. He said placing police resource officers in every public and private space in America would put a stop to the violence.

Former President Donald Trump

Trump said that releasing criminals and abolishing borders are part of the Biden-Harris Administrations agenda, and interference is part of what the Democrats want for the upcoming election. Trump showed the audience the current Republican presidential candidate polls in different states (which were shown to be in his favor, according to InteractivePolls Twitter) and discussed his signing of the Right to Try law, which allows terminally ill patients to access experimental drugs. Three Supreme Court justices were confirmed under the Trump-Pence Administration, as were 300 federal judges, Trump said. He said Bidens handling of classified documents, as well as 1,850 boxes of unaccounted for documents in Chinatown, revealed Biden obtained millions of dollars from China. Trump said his plans for office include restoring safety to the nation from gang violence and increasing security in schools. He said the shooting that occurred in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27 was a result of the reduction in school security and a mental health, cultural, social and spiritual problem that could be offset by arming school teachers. Part of his administrations plan to address mental health in the country, Trump said, is to direct the FDA to create an independent, outside panel to examine transgender hormone therapy and whether its effects upon increases in depression, aggression and violence. Trump also said that genetically engineered cannabis and other narcotics are causing psychotic breaks. In closing, Trump discussed the damage done by the Biden-Harris Administration, which he said has caused the nation to decline, and how in 2024 the Trump Administration will make the country great again.

Overall, many of the speakers highlighted similar aspects in their platforms, including a heavy emphasis on mental health crises across the country and the need for American citizens to bear arms in order for other rights listed in the U.S. Constitution to be enforced. Ramaswamy mentioned tensions between China and Taiwan during his remarks, and named Chinese leader Xi Jinping directly to support his position.

If you want to stop Xi Jinping from invading Taiwan, put a gun in every Taiwanese household and have them defend themselves, Ramaswamy said during his remarks. Lets see what Xi Jinping does then. Thats what it means to be an actual American.

Paul Rak, a marketing consultant and lifetime NRA member, attended the convention with his wife and shed some light on why he attended the convention.

Ive been a member for probably 20 to 30 years, Rak said, and really, [we came] because it was in the area. Were from Illinois and just hadnt been able to come out in a number of years. So I just thought it would be interesting. And [my wife] really wanted to see Trump.

Rak said that he believes gun owners have a right to self-defense and that he felt comfortable at the NRA convention because he was around people who know what they are doing. He also mentioned the Greenwood Park Mall shooting that occurred this past July.

It [comes] back to some people doing violence and so forth, Rak said. [In] Indiana, I think, sometime within the last year, there was a shooting in a mall. And guns were not supposed to be there. But there was a good guy with a gun who stopped the perpetrator.

Protesters during the conference were present across from the convention center. Retirees Kerry Worthington and Elizabeth McQuinn were among the protesters. Worthington said that what brought him to the convention was his anti-AR-15 beliefs and opinion that people should have permits to carry firearms.

We think you have to have a permit, Worthington said. You have to have a permit to drive a car. . . . You cant lease a car at 25, [but] you can buy an AR-15 at 18. And you think that makes sense?

McQuinn said what brought her to the convention center was that she was offended by the Indiana General Assembly being used as a platform to publicize the NRA, when the assembly passed a special resolution to honor the NRA and its Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre.

Its a poorly run organization, McQuinn said. And to think that our statehouse, dominated by the Republican supermajority, would do that, I think, is unconscionable.

Shufeldt said that having the convention in Indianapolis provided an opportunity for students who might not like Indianapolis hosting the NRA, in light of recent shootings, to take part in interest groups and organizations opposed to the association. He said that for those who support the NRA and the Second Amendment, the convention was likely a good sign and an opportunity to get involved and learn more about the organization.

Gun laws change pretty quickly, Shufeldt said. And . . . not all of our students are Hoosier residents. I would encourage students to be mindful of what gun laws are in their home state, realizing that they change from state to state. So if you do carry a firearm, be mindful of that if youre going back and forth. Likewise, if you dont like the laws in your home state. . . state governments have some power to do something about it and other state governments might be more responsive than ours.

Read more:
Indianapolis hosts the 2023 National Rifle Association convention ... - The Reflector Online

One of the many reasons to celebrate the Democratic Party's abandoning of Iowa as the first winnowing floor of its presidential primary season is that Iowa's politics are now wholly controlled by radical Christian theocrats who do not shrink even from reintroducing child labor in that state by law. These people are just lost, and there is no point in the Democrats giving them pride of place for Iowa's crackpot politics and its utterly absurd caucus system by which people vote in January and win in June. Of course, these same attributes make Iowa absolutely essential to the Republican nominating process.So, this past weekend, the prospective 2024 presidential candidates all traipsed out to Iowa for the "spring kickoff" gala sponsored by the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. ("The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter." Sam Spade). Just judging from afar, the gala seems to have been dedicated largely to widening the gender gap and alienating most voters under the age of 55. Case in point: former vice-president Mike (The Choirboy) Pence, who found himself among his people. From the Washington Post:

Mike Pence is for a no-questions-asked national ban on all forms of abortion. Period. Full stop. He pretties it all up by talking about advancing the sanctity of life, but the fire-eyed fanatic always shines through.

If that were the case, of course, Roe v. Wade would still be rocking right along and Mike Pence would still be howling about it from the peanut gallery. Instead, he's leaving no doubt that he seeks to lead the ni shagu nazad faction on all aspects of this issue. From CBS News:

The coverage of the 2024 is going to be unlike the coverage of any election since 1864. It will take place in two radically different realities, two different countries, really. The borders between the realities are the borders of Iowa which, in 1864, went for Abraham Lincoln with 64 percent of the popular vote while more than 11,000 of its citizens were dying for the Union.

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.

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The Choirboy Pence Was the Star of the Theocratic Circus In Iowa ... - Esquire

Speaking on Tuesday from the headquarters of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life nonprofit with an associated political action committee, presidential hopeful Nikki Haley set out to do something other declared and anticipated GOP candidates have mostly avoided: She talked at length about abortion.

The subject has occupied a strange place in the 2024 Republican primaryperhaps predictably, as it's been 50 years since we've had a presidential election without the legal framework of Roe v. Wade (1973). Former Vice President Mike Pence consistently and unambiguously presses his pro-life case. But the rest of the field has been noticeably quieter, with former President Donald Trump reportedly telling advisers that he "believes [abortion] is a difficult [issue] for Republicans and not something he should focus his time on," despite his own role in appointing some of the Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned Roe.

Haley's speech was presumably intended to fill that void, and the former South Carolina governor got her assessment of America's abortion politics half right. She took a large stride toward realism about our deep and intractable division over abortion, swatting down naive fears about what's likely to get through Congress. But then she promptly backtracked, calling for "the next president [to] find national consensus"a task that would fall well outside of any president's capacity, if it is even possible to do.

The confusion in Haley's thinking is obvious in the path of her argument, which starts with a pointed history lesson. Before Roe, she said, state-based regulation of abortion allowed "the citizens of each state [to reach] a consensus that reflected their values." The federalist approach wasn't perfect, in Haley's telling, because some states chose "more permissive laws," but it's "what the founders of our country envisioned" and "the reality of living in a democracy."

Then, with Roe, the Supreme Court overrode abortion federalism with a single "national mandate that much of the country found deeply offensive," Haley continued. We lived with thatand the resultant culture war animosityuntil "last year, [when] the court returned power to the American people. We are now free to forge consensus once again."

But it's not a new federalism Haley wants. Hers is a vision for a "national consensus," and she thinks the next president (which is to say, Haley herself) can craft it.

On the one hand, Haley rightly recognized that a filibuster-proof GOP majority in the Senate "hasn't happened in over 100 years, and it's unlikely to happen soon," which means the "pro-life laws that have passed in strongly Republican states will not be approved at the federal level." Democratic claims to the contrary are, indeed, fearmongeringas are Republican alarms about congressional Democrats nixing pro-life state laws. No sweeping federal abortion regime is on offer from our lawmakers.

But Haley has no similar realism about what a president can actually do here. She seems to think a president can convince pro-choice and progressive Americans that pro-life crisis pregnancy centers are a positive thing, that adoption is an unalloyed good, and that "pro-life doctors and nurses should never be forced to violate their beliefs." And somehow, a president can also convince conservative, pro-life Americansincluding Catholics for whom this is a matter of church doctrine as well as politics"that contraception should be more available, not less."

"Those are just some areas where national consensus is already within reach," Haley insisted. "There are others too," and we can "find them through heartfelt dialogue."

Can we, though? If nice words from a well-intentioned president were all it took, we'd have solved abortion years ago.

If anything, crisis pregnancy centers, adoption, and religious liberty exemptions for health care workers have become more controversial on the left in the last decade or so. As for contraception, well, I'm not sure why the Vatican would care what a President Haley thinksparticularly if she declines to spell out how, exactly, contraception should be "available," which could mean anything from deregulating the pill to forcing Catholic organizations to cover employees' contraceptive care.

The reality is that we're nowhere near national consensus on any of this, and adding the inherently polarizing voice of an American president to the conversation will not make it more "heartfelt." The presidency has become far too powerful, but when it comes to shifting national feeling in an intense moral disagreementto say nothing of making policy changes a subsequent president can't immediately undoeven that power has its limits. (Ironically, the ever-provocative Donald Trump may be the closest to understanding how little a president can do here.)

At best, presidential involvement in this debate will have zero effect. More likely, it will add to our contention and open up new fronts in this culture war. If a national consensus on abortion ever does exist, it won't be forged in the White House.

Here is the original post:
Nikki Haley Is Wrong About Finding a 'National Consensus' On ... - Reason

Todays installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* According to the latest national NBC News poll, Donald Trump is ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the Republicans 2024 presidential nomination, 46% to 31%. Former Vice President Mike Pence was a distant third with 6% support, and no other candidate reached 5% in the survey.

* The landscape looked even worse for the Florida governor in the latest Wall Street Journal poll, which found the former president leading DeSantis by an even wider margin, 48% to 24%. As recently as December, a Wall Street Journal poll found DeSantis leading Trump.

* After Trump faced far-right pushback for saying abortion should be a state-by-state issue, Pence insisted over the weekend that a federal abortion ban is an idea that ought to be a part and parcel of debate.

* The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional under the state constitution.

* The New York Times reported that a bipartisan group called the Mission Democracy PAC will challenge far-right members of Congress in their often deep-red home districts, running ads and messaging campaigns that accuse the politicians of holding antidemocratic and extreme positions. The outfit has a long way to go it only has roughly $500,000 in the bank but it intends to raise $18 million for the 2024 election cycle.

* Two years after failing badly in Californias gubernatorial recall effort, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder announced late last week that hes running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

* And in a bit of a surprise, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday that hes passing on the 2024 presidential race. To those of you this announcement disappoints, my apologies, he said. And to those of you this thrills, know that Im 59 years-old. There remains many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary.

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."

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Mondays Campaign Round-Up, 4.24.23 - MSNBC